Blender with removable spindle and monitored reservoir

ABSTRACT

An economical blender with a removable, motor driven spindle assembly to perform blending, a motor driven elevator used to lift a cup with food or beverage up to the spindle assembly and a liquid reservoir which allows liquid to be inserted into the food or beverage during blending. The removable spindle assembly has a quick release coupler and a compression spring which connects the quick release coupler to a cup cover. Blending is accomplished by connecting a motor driven inner spindle drive shaft to a concentric outer spindle drive tube through cogged couplers. The outer spindle drive tube powers a blending tool and, like the blending tool, is removable with the spindle assembly for cleaning.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/015,969, filed Feb. 3, 2016, and entitled“Blender With Removable Spindle And Monitored Reservoir,” which isrelated to Patent Cooperation Treaty Application No. PCT/US2016/016624,filed Feb. 4, 2016, and entitled “Blender With Removable Spindle AndMonitored Reservoir,” and further claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/115,116, filed Feb. 4,2015, and entitled “Blender With Removable Spindle And MonitoredReservoir,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to food preparation machines, particularlyelectrical blenders for preparing smoothies, milkshakes, protein shakesand other blended beverages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Blended fruit smoothies, milkshakes and protein shakes are becomingincreasingly popular among health conscious people. In these blendeddrinks, fresh fruits and/or vegetables can be mixed together with, ifdesired, vitamins and protein supplements to provide fresh nutritiousfoods in a convenient, portable form.

While it is advantageous to blend carefully selected ingredients at thepeak of their freshness, it is often not practical to do so. To havefresh fruits and vegetables available every day, for example, one mayneed to frequently go shopping for such fruits/vegetables, give thefruits/vegetables time to ripen and then make sure that thefruits/vegetables do not over ripen. Moreover, working with fresh fruitsand vegetables usually generates organic wastes, is often messy andinevitably requires clean up. This means a lot of time and attention.

In a fast moving society, there is a demand for a fresh, nutritiousblended drink that can be selected and prepared quickly. Better yet,such a fresh, blended drink should be available at a place that can beeasily accessed, such as a convenience store, restaurant or one's home.

F'Real Foods, LLC, a subsidiary of Rich Products Corporation, has made abusiness of making fresh, nutritious smoothies and milkshakes availableat easily accessible locations, such as convenience stores. F'Real Foodsstarts with fresh ingredients, such as fresh fruits and milk, which itpre-blends into smoothies and milkshakes. The pre-blended smoothies andmilkshakes are then hard frozen in sealed cups before they are shippedto convenience stores at many different locations. The frozenpre-blended smoothies and milkshakes are then stored in a freezer at theconvenience store next to a commercial size blending machine. When theconvenience store consumer wants a fresh smoothie or milkshake, theconsumer simply selects the desired frozen, pre-blended smoothie ormilkshake from the convenience store freezer, tears the seal off the topof the smoothie/milkshake cup and then places the smoothie/milkshake cupin a cupholder built into the blending machine. The consumer can thenstart the blending machine to blend the frozen smoothie/milkshake to adesired consistency.

F'Real Foods, LLC has numerous U. S. patents and U. S. published patentapplications covering its blending machines and processes for preparingsmoothies/milkshakes, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,803,377; 5,962,060;6,041,961; 6,326,047; 6,474,862; 6,465,034; 6,527,207; 7,144,150;7,520,658; 7,520,662; 8,336,731; 8,735,515 and 8,902,626 as well as U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2011/0088568; 2013/0341446;2013/0344220; 2013/0341439 and 2013/0344221.

For its convenience store market, F'Real has built and supplied heavyduty, stainless steel commercial size blenders that can withstand ruggeduse by convenience store customers while requiring very littlemaintenance. These heavy duty blenders are typically attached to amunicipal water supply so that they have a generous supply of water forblending, cleaning and automatic sanitizing. After a milkshake orsmoothie is blended and removed by the customer, the food preparationchamber in the F'Real commercial size blender is sprayed with water,preferably heated water, to wash away any food residue and killbacteria.

The popularity of F'Real Foods, LLC's convenience store smoothies andmilkshakes has led to a demand to make the same sort of smoothies andmilkshakes available for use in other settings, such as a home orrestaurant. In these other settings, a commercial size blender may betoo expensive or dedicated access to a municipal water supply may not beavailable for the blender. In those instances, it would still beimportant to prepare the smoothies and milkshakes quickly and in asanitary manner, but it would need to be done with a simpler machinethat could be purchased for a lower price.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an economical food or beverageblender that is especially suited for blending frozen milkshakes andsmoothies. This blender features a removable, motor driven spindleassembly, a motor driven elevator to lift a cup with the food orbeverage to the spindle assembly and a liquid reservoir/pump/heatercombination which allows heated liquid to be inserted into the food orbeverage during blending. For safety reasons and to protect from damage,the motors, pump and heater are located in a blender housing. Apivotable spindle cover protrudes from the front to the blender housingto prevent the spindle assembly blending tool from injuring the userduring the blending process.

The preferred removable spindle assembly has a quick release coupling atits top which attaches onto a spindle support permanently affixed in theblender housing. The spindle assembly can be easily removed for cleaningby turning the quick release coupler and then pulling the spindleassembly downward. Below the quick release coupler is a compressionspring which also connects to a cup cover. During blending, thecompression spring presses the cup cover against the top of themilkshake/smoothie or other frozen beverage cup to minimize any spilledmilkshake/smoothie during the blending process. Blending is accomplishedthrough a combination of an inner spindle drive shaft, a concentricouter spindle drive tube, a combination of cogged couplers and ablending tool. In the preferred embodiment, the inner spindle driveshaft is permanently connected to the spindle motor through acombination of pulleys and a spindle drive belt. To operate the blendingtool attached to the outer spindle drive tube, the inner spindle driveshaft is concentrically inserted into the outer spindle drive tube andconnected together through cogged couplers. By meshing these coggedcouplers, the inner spindle drive shaft and outer spindle drive tubespin together when the spindle motor is activated. An importantadvantage of this spindle assembly design is that it allows all thespindle assembly surfaces that can come in contact with food to beremoved and washed when the removable portion of the spindle assembly isdisconnected from the blender.

In the preferred embodiment, a liquid reservoir is connected to theblender housing. A pump and heater are connected to the reservoir todeposit pre-determined amounts of heated liquid from the reservoir intothe frozen milkshake or smoothie during blending. Detaching a cap at thetop of the reservoir allows the reservoir to be refilled. A fluid levelsensor is provided to determine when the fluid level in the reservoir isrunning low. The fluid level sensor may be, for example, a float,optical, ultrasound, radio wave, capacitive or inductive sensor. In someembodiments, the reservoir is detachable and can be removed forcleaning. In other embodiments, the reservoir is cleaned in place with,for example, a brush.

To operate the blender of the present invention, one begins by movingthe pivotable spindle cover upward and attaching a clean spindleassembly to the spindle support using the quick release coupling. Thepivotable spindle cover is then pulled down to protect the user duringthe blending process. A frozen milkshake or smoothie is inserted intothe blender cupholder and the start button on the blender is pushed. Theblending process begins when the motorized elevator raises the cupholderto the point where the frozen milkshake or smoothie comes into contactwith the spindle assembly blending tool. To minimize spills, the spindleassembly automatically presses the cup cover onto the top of the cupbefore and during blending. The motorized elevator continues to move thefrozen milkshake or smoothie up and down during blending until themilkshake or smoothie is blended to the desired consistency. Fluid fromthe reservoir is added during the blending process to facilitateblending and improve consistency. When blending is complete, themotorized elevator lowers the cup and cupholder to the starting positionso that the user can enjoy the fully blended milkshake, smoothie orother frozen blended beverage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred blender of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the blender of FIG. 1 without the cup;

FIGS. 3A-3B show cut away side views of the FIG. 1 blender;

FIG. 4 shows a close-up, perspective view of the preferred spindleassembly connected to the spindle motor;

FIG. 5 shows a close-up, cross-sectional view of the spindle assembly;

FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 5 spindle assembly;

FIG. 7 shows a close-up, perspective view of the outer spindle drivetube and inner spindle drive shaft in the context of the spindleassembly and spindle motor;

FIGS. 8A-8F shows close-up views of the outer spindle drive tube, innerspindle drive shaft and cogged couplers;

FIG. 9A-9C shows cross-sectional views of the outer spindle drive tube,inner spindle drive shaft and cogged couplers of FIGS. 8A-8F;

FIG. 10A-10H show an alternative spindle embodiment, including analternative outer spindle drive tube with a socket fitting;

FIG. 11 illustrates the preferred blender of the present inventionbefore the removable spindle assembly is attached;

FIG. 12 illustrates how the removable spindle assembly is axiallyaligned with the inner spindle drive shaft before it is attached;

FIG. 13 illustrates how the outer spindle drive tube slides over theinner spindle drive shaft when the removable spindle assembly isattached to the blender;

FIG. 14 illustrates how attachment of the removable spindle assembly tothe blender is completed through use of the quick release couplingmember;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional, cut-away view of the blender of thepresent invention illustrating how the removable spindle assembly cupcover attaches to the top of the cup prior to blending;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional, cut-away view of the blender of thepresent invention illustrating how the cup is raised into a position tobegin blending;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional, cut-away view of the blender of thepresent invention illustrating how the blending tool blends at thebottom of the cup;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional, cut-away view of a preferred built-influid reservoir;

FIG. 19 is a close-up view of a water level sensing float for thebuilt-in fluid reservoir in a raised position;

FIG. 20 is a close-up view of a water level sensing float for thebuilt-in fluid reservoir in a lowered position;

FIG. 21 shows a cross-sectional, cut-away view of an alternativebuilt-in fluid reservoir embodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates an alternative blender of the present invention witha removable fluid reservoir.

FIG. 23 illustrates how the removable fluid reservoir of the FIG. 22blender embodiment can be disconnected from the remainder of theblender.

FIG. 24 illustrates the removable fluid reservoir when it is completelydetached from the FIG. 22 blender.

FIG. 25 illustrates how a float valve can be used to control wateraccumulation in the removable reservoir of FIG. 22 when the blender isplumbed to a water source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a preferred blender of the present invention asit would be viewed from the outside. This blender has a housing 12 (toprotect its internal working components), an upper spindle cover 14, apivotable lower spindle cover 16, a cupholder 18, a control panel 22 anda reservoir cap 28. The upper spindle cover 14 and pivotable lowerspindle cover 16 accommodate a removable spindle assembly 30 (FIG. 2)which performs the blending. The cupholder 18 is used to hold a cup 20containing the food or beverage to be blended. In one preferredembodiment, the food or beverage to be blended is a frozen milkshake orsmoothie. The reservoir cap 28 covers a built-in fluid reservoir 60(FIG. 3A-B) at the back of the blender. For blending frozen food orbeverages, it is often advantageous to add fluid, such as heated water,during the blending process to facilitate blending and achieve a desiredconsistency. In the preferred blender of the present invention, thefluid is stored in the fluid reservoir 60. By removing the reservoir cap28, one can refill the built-in fluid reservoir 60.

A control panel 22 near the top of the blender housing 12 provides theswitches 24, 26 and indicator lights 29 that allow operation of theblender. For example, a blending knob 24 allows the operator to set adesired consistency for the blended food or beverage ranging from athick consistency to a thin consistency. A start button 26 allows theoperator to begin the blending process. In the preferred embodiment,pushing the start button 26 will only activate the blender 10 when theblender 10 is ready for operation. Determining whether the blender 10 isready for operation will preferably depend on such factors as whetherthe pivotable lower spindle cover 16 is in a lowered position andwhether the cupholder 18 is in its base starting position (asillustrated in FIG. 1). Indicator lights 29 can be used to tell theoperator if there is a problem that must be corrected before the blender10 can be operated. For example, an indicator light 29 can remind theoperator to lower the pivotable lower spindle cover 16 for theoperator's protection before the blender 10 is started. The variousfunctions of the control panel are managed by an appropriatemicroprocessor (not shown).

FIGS. 3A and 3B provide cut-away views of the blender 10 of the presentinvention illustrating its internal working components. These componentsinclude a removable spindle assembly 30, a spindle motor 50, a fluidreservoir 60, a fluid heater 61, a fluid pump 62, fluid tubes 64, 65,66, a cupholder elevator 70, a cupholder carriage 74, an elevator drivegear 76 and an elevator drive belt 78. The removable spindle assembly 30is used to blend the food or beverage in the cup 20. Through acombination of pulleys 52,54 and a belt 56 (FIG. 4), the spindle motor50 spins the blending tool 38 of the removable spindle assembly 30. Toplace the blending tool 38 in contact with the food or beverage, anelevator 70 is used to raise and lower the cupholder carriage 74 andcupholder 18. The elevator 70 is powered by an elevator motor 72 throughelevator drive gear 76 and elevator drive belt 78. The fluid reservoir60 contains fluid which aids in the blending process. A fluid pump 62and fluid tubes 65, 66 are used to transfer fluid from the fluidreservoir 60 to the cup 20 during the blending process. In analternative embodiment, fluid from the reservoir 60 can also be used forspray cleaning of the spindle assembly 30 after use.

The cup 20 and cupholder 18 preferably have mating anti-rotationalsurfaces 17, 19 to prevent the cup 20 and cupholder 18 from rotatingwith respect to one another during the blending process. Preferredanti-rotational surfaces 17, 19 are described in f real's U.S. Pat. Nos.8,336,731 and 6,041,961, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIG. 4 illustrates how the removable spindle assembly 30 is operativelyconnected to the spindle motor 50. The removable spindle assembly 30 isattached to the blender's spindle support 33 through quick releasecoupler 32. After attachment, the spindle motor 50 rotates the spindleassembly blending tool 38 by spinning the spindle motor pulley 52 andspindle assembly pulley 54 through connector belt 56.

FIGS. 5-6 illustrates the component parts of a preferred removablespindle assembly embodiment 30. At the top of the spindle assembly 30 isa quick release coupler 32 to attach the spindle assembly 30 to theblender 10. At the base of the spindle assembly 30 are the cup cover 36and blending tool 38. In between the quick release coupler 32 andblending tool 38 is the outer spindle drive tube 40 and a compressionspring 34. A cup cover support 42 at the bottom of the outer spindledrive tube 40 is used to prevent the cup cover 36 from dropping off thespindle assembly 30 and a cogged coupler 44 at top of the outer spindledrive tube 40 is used to prevent the quick release coupler 32 frompopping off the top of the spindle assembly 30. The cup cover support 42preferably has an upper planar surface 47 upon which the cup cover 36rests so that the cup cover 36 will be maintained on the same horizontalplane as the top of the cup 20 (FIGS. 6 and 10B). To create a permanent,heavy duty attachment which prevents food particles from seeping insidethe outer spindle drive tube 40, the outer spindle drive tube 40, cupcover support 42 and cogged coupler 44 are all preferably made fromstainless steel with both the cup cover support 42 and cogged coupler 44being welded to the outer spindle drive tube 40. In this preferredembodiment, the compression spring 34 and blending tool 38 are also madeof stainless steel. By comparison, the quick release coupler 32 and cupcover 36 can be made from a durable plastic. Alternatively, the cupcover 36 may be made from a combination of a hard plastic base and asoft plastic or rubber seal. In this alternative embodiment, the hardplastic base maintains a resilient shape for the cup.

In this preferred embodiment, the blending tool 38 includes bothradially extendable cutting blades 39 and internal cutting blades 41(FIG. 6). The blending tool 38 is preferably designed both to cutthrough the food or beverage and to aerate the food or beverage. Onepreferred blending tool embodiment, which includes one or more radiallyextendable cutting blades 39 and internal cutting blades 41, isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,207, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference. The purpose of the radially extendablecutting blades 39 is to compliment the internal cutting blades 41 byadjusting to sections of the cup 20 with different radiuses. Forexample, most cups are not perfectly cylindrical, but rather have alarger inner radius at their top than at their bottom. The cup 20illustrated in FIG. 1 is such a tapered cup. By having one or moreradially extendable cutting blades 39 complimenting the internal cuttingblades 41, the radially extendable cutting blades 39 can extend theirblending radius to the edge of the cup 20 even though that radiuschanges from the top of the cup to the bottom of the cup. While acombination of internal cutting blades 41 and radially extendablecutting blades 39 is the preferred blending tool 38 for the presentinvention, particularly where the food or beverage to be blended isfrozen, those of skill in the art will recognize that other blendingtools, such as whisks, may also be used in appropriate circumstances.

FIGS. 7 through 9C illustrate how the inner spindle drive shaft 46 worksin cooperation with the concentric outer spindle drive tube 40 totransfer rotational energy from the spindle motor 50 to the blendingtool 38. Like the spindle motor 50 and pulleys 52, 54, the inner spindledrive shaft 46 is permanently attached to the blender 10. As the spindleassembly pulley 54 turns, the inner spindle drive shaft 46, which ispermanently attached to that pulley 54, turns with it. The challengeconfronting the inventors was how to transfer the rotational motion ofthe inner spindle drive shaft 46 to the removable spindle assemblyblending tool 38. The inventors solved this problem by permanentlyattaching the blending tool 38 to an outer spindle drive tube 40. Whilethis outer spindle drive tube 40 is circular in cross-section in thepreferred embodiment, those of skill in the art will recognize that theouter spindle drive tube 40 can also have alternative cross-sectionalshapes, such as square, hexagonal, octagonal etc. When the removablespindle assembly 30 is attached to the blender 10, the tip 59 of theinner spindle drive shaft 46 slides concentrically into the hollowcentral opening 45 of the cogged coupler 43 until the cogged coupler 43of the outer spindle drive tube 40 meshes with the cogged coupler 48 ofthe inner spindle drive shaft 46 (see, FIGS. 8D-F and FIG. 9C). Tofacilitate the meshing of the respective cogged couplers 43, 48, matingteeth 51 are provided on both sets of cogged couplers 43, 48. Theseteeth 51 have ramped edges 55 and walled edges 57. As illustrated inFIGS. 8D-F, when the cogged couplers 43, 48 come in contact with oneanother, the ramped teeth edges 55 bias the teeth 51 into a firmengagement (see, FIG. 8E). This biasing is made possible because, untilthe cogged couplers 43, 48 lock together, the spindle assembly 30 andinner spindle drive shaft 46 are able to turn independently of oneanother. Once the teeth 51 are locked into this firm engagement, therotation of the inner spindle drive shaft 46 is efficiently translatedinto rotation of the outer spindle drive shaft 40 and, with it, theblending tool 38. In other words, when the teeth 51 are locked into firmengagement, the inner spindle drive shaft 46 and outer spindle drivetube 40 rotate in unison.

The use of concentric drive shafts/tubes 40, 46 in the present inventionhas numerous advantages over prior designs. Since the outer spindledrive tube 40 insulates the inner spindle drive shaft 46 from contactwith food during the blending process, there is no need to repeatedlyclean the inner spindle drive shaft 46. This is important because thepreferred inner spindle drive shaft 46 is permanently attached to theblender 10 and, thus, cannot be easily transported to a sink and washed.By comparison, since the outer spindle drive tube 40 is part of theremovable spindle assembly 30, it can be cleaned when the removablespindle assembly 30 is detached from the blender 10 for cleaning. Asillustrated in FIGS. 11-14, the use of concentric drive shafts/tubes 40,46 also has a further advantage when the permanently attached innerspindle drive shaft 46 acts as a guide during the process of reattachingthe removable spindle assembly 30 to the blender 10. Once the free end59 of the inner spindle drive shaft 46 is placed in the top of thecogged coupler 43 and outer spindle drive tube 40, reattaching theremovable spindle assembly 30 to the blender 10 then becomes largely amatter of sliding the outer spindle drive tube 40 up the inner spindledrive shaft 46. Also, the cogged couplers 43, 48 are designed to allowthe inner spindle drive shaft 46 to be firmly engaged to the outerspindle drive tube 40 during the blending process but then easilyseparated when the spindle assembly 30 is removed from the blender 10for cleaning. A further advantage of the drive shaft/tube 46, 40arrangement of the present invention is that, by securing the innerdrive shaft 46 at the two separated ends of the outer drive shaft 40 (i.e., at the cogged coupler 43 and cup cover support 42; see, FIG. 9C),wobble or “run out” in the operation of the spindle assembly 30 isminimized as compared with a system where this is only a single point ofcontact. While use of an inner drive shaft 46 which is permanentlyattached to the blender and an outer spindle drive tube 40 which is partof the removable spindle assembly 30 is the preferred embodiment for thepresent invention, those of skill in the art will recognize that theseparts could be switched and still create a workable blender (i. e., withthe outer spindle drive tube permanently attached to the blender and theinner drive shaft being part of the removable spindle assembly).

FIGS. 10A-H illustrate an alternative removable spindle assemblypreferred embodiment 100. The alternative preferred embodiment isidentical to the earlier spindle assembly preferred embodiment 30,except for the inclusion of socket fitting 101, O-ring 106, screw 108and an inner spindle drive shaft 103 with a shorter lower end 105. Inthe earlier preferred embodiment, the tip 59 of the inner spindle driveshaft 46 seated itself in a rigid hole 49 in the cup cover support 42when the spindle assembly 30 was fully engaged and connected to theblender 10 (see, FIG. 9C). Because of the hole's rigidity, vibration ofthe inner spindle drive shaft 46 during operation of the spindleassembly 30 may result in fretting wear to the tip 59 of the innerspindle drive shaft 46 which, over time, may create wobble and increasedfretting wear. To address the fretting wear issue, the alternativespindle assembly 100 includes a socket fitting 101 with a flexiblesocket 102. The socket fitting 101 is preferably made from a hardplastic, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Flexibility is builtinto the socket 102 by including one or more longitudinal slots 104 inthe socket 102. When the tip 59 of the inner spindle drive shaft 103 isinserted into the socket 102, the longitudinal slots 104 allow thesocket 102 to expand to create a snug, compliant fit. The socket fitting101 has the additional benefit of allowing the lower end 105 of theinner spindle drive shaft 103 to be shorter than in the earlier spindleassembly preferred embodiment (see, FIG. 10D). The shorter lower end 105allows for easier insertion into and removal of the inner spindle driveshaft 103 from the outer spindle drive tube 40.

To assemble the alternative removable spindle assembly 100, the lowerend of the outer spindle drive tube 40 is first welded to the top of thecup cover support 42. An O-ring 106 is placed around the periphery ofsocket fitting 101 and the socket fitting 101 is then slid into theinterior annular space of the outer spindle drive tube 40 until itslower end comes to rest on top of the cup cover support 42. A screw 108is then inserted into the bottom of the socket fitting 101 to expand thesocket fitting 101 and lock it in place in much the same way a screwlocks a dry wall anchor in place.

FIGS. 11-14 illustrate the progression of steps for attaching aremovable spindle assembly 30 to the blender when it is first installedor after it has been removed and cleaned. To begin the process, thepivotable lower spindle cover 16 should first be tilted upward to alloweasier insertion of the removable spindle assembly 30. In someembodiments, this may involve pressing a switch or latch to release thecover 16 from a locked position. Preferably, as soon as the cover 16 islifted upward, the spindle motor 50 and elevator motor 72 aredeactivated from operating. This deactivation can be done by a “killswitch” connected to the cover 16. As shown in FIGS. 11-12, theremovable spindle assembly 30 should then be inserted into the front ofthe blender 10 so that its quick release coupler 32 is below the lowertip 59 of the inner spindle drive shaft 46 and its cup cover 36 is abovethe top of the cupholder 18. After the removable spindle assembly 30 hasbeen inserted into this space, the lower tip 59 of the inner spindledrive shaft 46 should be aligned so that it can be inserted into theinterior opening 45 of the cogged coupler 43. As shown in FIGS. 13-14,once the inner spindle drive shaft 46 is inserted into the interioropening 45 of cogged coupler 43, the removable spindle assembly 30 canslide upward until its quick release coupler 32 comes into contact withthe permanently attached spindle support coupling 31.

In the preferred embodiment, once the quick release coupler 32 comes incontact with the spindle support coupler 31, the two couplers can belocked together simply by turning the quick release coupler 32 to theleft. Conversely, to unlock the quickly release coupler 32 and disengagethe removable spindle assembly 30, one would turn the quick releasecoupler 32 to the right. While one mechanism for attaching the spindleassembly 30 to the blender has been illustrated, those of skill in theart will recognize that other mechanisms can be used to attach thespindle assembly 30 to the blender 10. For example, in an alternativeembodiment, instead of manually turning a quick release coupler 32 withone's hand to attach the spindle assembly 30, one can instead slide arotatable release lever (not shown) from one side to the other (e. g.,from left to right) to engage the quick release coupler 32. In a furtheralternative embodiment, a button (not shown) can be pressed to lock orunlock the quick release coupler from the spindle support coupling 31.After the removable spindle assembly 30 is properly attached to theblender 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 11-14, the pivotable lower spindlecover 16 should be pivoted downward to its lowered operating position asillustrated in FIG. 1. By being in this lowered position prior tooperation, it blocks the user's fingers from inadvertently coming incontact with the rotating blending tool 38 while blending is takingplace.

FIGS. 1 and 15-17 illustrate how a food or beverage product can beblended once the removable spindle assembly 30 is properly attached tothe blender 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the process begins by placing a cup20 with food or beverage in the cup holder 18. The operator can thenturn the blending knob 24 on the control panel 22 to select a desiredconsistency and press the start button 26 on the control panel 22 toindicate that they are ready for the blending process to start. At thatpoint, a microprocessor (not shown) in the blender will preferably checkto see that the machine is ready for blending before activating elevatormotor 72 and then spindle motor 50. For example, the microprocessor willconfirm that the pivotable lower spindle cover 16 is in a loweredposition and that the cupholder 18 is in its bottom starting position asshown in FIG. 1. Once these checks are done, the elevator motor 72 isactivated to lift the cupholder 18 and cup 20 upward toward the spindleassembly 30. As shown in FIG. 15, after the top of the cup 20 passes thebottom 19 of the pivotable lower spindle cover 16, the spindle assemblycup cover 36 is pressed onto the top of the cup 20 by compression spring34. As previously noted, the purpose of the cup cover 36 is to preventfood or beverage from spilling out of the cup 20 during the blending. Inaddition to preventing spills, use of a compression spring 34 alsopresses the anti-rotational mechanisms 17,19 (FIG. 3A) into firmerengagement to prevent the cup 20 from spinning during the blendingprocess. In the preferred embodiment, the blending tool 38 on thespindle assembly 30 is not allowed to begin rotating until: (1) the topof the cup 20 passes the bottom 19 of the pivotable lower spindle cover16; (2) the cup cover 36 is pressed onto the top of the cup 20 and (3)the blending tool 38 comes in contact, or is about to come in contact,with the food or beverage in the cup 20 (see, FIG. 16). Sensors, such asoptical sensors or electric current sensing (not shown), can be used tomake sure these conditions are met before the microprocessor activatesthe spindle motor 50.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate operation of the blending tool 38 to blendfood or beverage in the cup 20. In the preferred blender 10, theblending tool 38 remains at a constant, predetermined height while thecupholder 18 moves up and down. As the elevator assembly 70 moves thecupholder 18 up and down, the blending tool 38 operates at differentlevels of the food or beverage in the cup 20. For example, in theposition shown in FIG. 16, the blending tool 38 begins by blending foodor beverage at the top of the cup 20. As the elevator 70 continues toraise the cup 20, the blending tool 38 blends food or beverage atprogressively lower levels in the cup 20 until the blending tool 38reaches the bottom of the cup 20 as shown in FIG. 17. To achieve evenblending and good consistency, the blending tool 38 should work at alllevels of the food or beverage present in the cup 20. When the cupholder18 is subsequently lowered, the blending tool 38 continues to blend, butthis time at progressively higher levels of food or beverage in the cup20. To get the best blending and consistency, the cupholder 18 ispreferably raised and lowered multiple times while the blending tool 38is spinning. The blending process preferably ends with a “spin-off”after the cup has been partially lowered so that the food or beverage iscleared from the blending tool 38. Once the blending process iscompleted, the elevator assembly 70 lowers the cupholder 18 and cup 20to the bottom starting position shown in FIG. 1. The blender operatorcan then remove the cup 20 from the cupholder 18 so that the user canenjoy their fully blended food or beverage. While it is preferred in thepresent invention that the cup/cupholder move up and down during theblending process while the blending tool is stationary, the presentinvention can alternatively be carried out with the blending tool movingup and down while the cup/cupholder are stationary. This alternativeembodiment would allow a cup/cupholder carousel to be used to speed uppreparation of multiple milkshakes/smoothies.

After each cup of food or beverage is blended, the blending tool 38should be rinsed to remove any food or beverage that has not alreadybeen spun off the blending tool 38. Preferably, the spindle assembly 30is removed from the blender and rinsed either at a faucet or in acontainer of water (similar to cleaning ice cream scoops). The spindleassembly 30, or a backup spindle assembly which has already been rinsed,cleaned and/or sanitized, is then attached to the blender 10 beforepreparing a subsequent cup of food or beverage. Periodically, thespindle assembly 30 should be removed for a more thorough cleaning ofall its parts. In a preferred embodiment, the spindle assembly 30 isremoved for full cleaning and sanitizing at least once every four hours.

FIG. 18 illustrates a preferred built-in reservoir 60 which is used tostore fluid, such as water, in the blender 10. For blending frozenmilkshakes or smoothies, the inventors have found that it is helpful toinsert heated fluid into the cup 20 during the blending process toachieve the desired consistency. Under the control of a microprocessor,this fluid is pumped by pump 62 to the cup 20 through tubes 65, 66 (see,FIG. 3). In an alternative embodiment, fluid from the reservoir 60 canalso be used to rinse the blending tool 38 or the entire spindleassembly 30 after each blending process. The reservoir 60 is preferablymade from stainless steel or a durable, food-safe plastic.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 18, the built-in reservoir 60 is filledmanually by opening reservoir cap 28 and pouring fluid into the top ofthe reservoir 60. In an alternative embodiment, the reservoir 60 can beconnected to a permanently plumbed water line to fill automatically. Toprevent the reservoir from inadvertently running dry, a level sensor 80is preferably built into the bottom of the reservoir 60. In thepreferred embodiment, the level sensor is a float sensor 80 asillustrated in FIGS. 19-20. When the fluid level is high, the float 82will rise as shown in FIG. 19 until it reaches upper stop 86. When thefluid level is low, the float 82 will drop as shown in FIG. 20 until thefloat reaches lower stop 88. When the float 82 drops to this point, theblender operator will be alerted that the reservoir 60 needs be refilledeither by a light 29 on the control panel 22, an audible noise or both.In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 21, the level sensor 90 canutilize optical beam, radio wave, capacitive, ultrasound or inductivesensing. For a through beam optical sensor, an optical beam (visible orinfrared) is passed through the liquid and the intensity is measured bya receiving sensor. The presence of fluid will attenuate the lightintensity as seen by the receiving sensor. A radio wave sensor operatesin a similar manner. In a reflective optical beam configuration, thebeam of light is reflected at the fluid/air interface in the reservoirand the angle of the reflected light varies with the fluid level. Again,a receiving light sensor measures the angle and determines the fluidlevel. If there is sufficient fluid in the reservoir, there is no alertsignal. If the fluid level is determined to be too low, an alert signalis generated. In a capacitive sensor, the presence of fluid can act asthe dielectric layer. The presence (or absence) of fluid between thecapacitive plates alters the electrical characteristics of the system.Likewise, an inductive system would detect the change in permeability offluid or air to determine the water level. As shown in FIG. 21, theideal sensor 90 does not contact the fluid for sanitary reasons and,thus, would not be located in the reservoir 60 itself.

Periodically, the built-in reservoir 60 should be cleaned. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 18, cleaning can be accomplished by opening thecap 28 and brushing the inside walls of the reservoir 60, preferablywith the assistance of a mild cleaning chemical. A drain (not shown) canbe provided at the bottom of the reservoir 60 to remove any cleaningchemicals and rinse water before the reservoir is refilled. For purposesof cleaning, use of an optical beam, radio wave, capacitive, ultrasoundor inductive level indicator has advantages over the float indicator 80of the preferred embodiment because these alternative optical beam orradio wave level indicators operate externally to the reservoir 60 and,thus, do not create additional internal surfaces that need to becleaned.

As shown in FIGS. 22-25, a removable reservoir 112 can alternatively beused. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 22-25, the removable reservoir112 is built into the side of the blender 110 and has a handle 114 foreasy removal and reinsertion. In the embodiment illustrated, one removesthe reservoir 112 by pressing down on the snap flex latch 116 with onehand as one pulls on the reservoir handle 114 with the other hand (see,FIG. 22). The removable reservoir 112 will then slide outward on rails119 (FIG. 23) until it detaches from the rest of the blender (FIG. 24).At that point, the top 113 of the reservoir 112 can be removed to allowthe inside of the reservoir 112 to be cleaned. Cleaning can beaccomplished by placing the removable reservoir 112 in a dishwasher orusing a brush with soap and potable water to manually clean the insideof the reservoir 112. To reinsert the removable reservoir 112 into theblender 110, one simply reverses the order of the steps. One begins byplacing the top 113 back on a filled or unfilled reservoir 112, aligningthe bottom of the reservoir onto the rails 119 and sliding the reservoir112 onto the rails 119 until the snap flex latch 116 locks the reservoir112 back into place.

A water coupler with check valve 120 allows water to flow between thereservoir 112 and the blender 110 when the reservoir 112 is fullyattached to the blender 110. The same water coupler with check valve 120stops water from flowing when the reservoir 112 is not attached to theblender 110. In one embodiment, the reservoir 112 can be manually filledby removing the top 113 and pouring in water. In an alternativeembodiment, the removable reservoir is automatically filled by attachingit to a municipal water supply with a permanently plumbed water linethrough port 124. A water coupler with check valve may also be used inport 124 to insure that water flows into the reservoir 112 only when thereservoir is fully attached to the blender 110. Where the reservoir isbeing automatically filled from a municipal water supply, a float valve122 can be used to detect how much water is in the reservoir andautomatically shut off flow of water into the reservoir 112 when thewater level reaches a pre-determined height.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific preferred embodiments and methods. It will,however, be evident to those of skill in the art that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the broaderspirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative, rather than restrictive sense; the invention being limitedonly by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A blender for blending food or beverage in a cupcomprising: a blender housing; a spindle motor contained within theblender housing and connected to a removable spindle assembly, theremovable spindle assembly including a blending tool having a pluralityof blades; an elevator motor contained within the blender housing andconnected to a cupholder for holding a cup with a food or beverage; afluid reservoir removably coupled to the blender housing, wherein theblender housing includes a rail, wherein the fluid reservoir is slidablealong the rail between a fully attached position and a detachedposition, wherein the blender housing includes a water coupler thatengages the fluid reservoir when the fluid reservoir is in the fullyattached position to establish fluid communication with the fluidreservoir, wherein the fluid reservoir includes a handle, and whereinthe fluid reservoir is slidable along the rail from the fully attachedposition toward the detached position by pulling on the handle in aremoval direction; a pump in fluid communication with the fluidreservoir when the fluid reservoir is in the fully attached position;and a microprocessor configured to: operate the spindle motor to blendthe food or beverage within the cup during a blending process, operatethe elevator motor to raise and lower the cupholder relative to theblender housing during the blending process, and operate the pump topump liquid from the fluid reservoir into the cup during the blendingprocess.
 2. The blender of claim 1 wherein said removable spindleassembly comprises a quick release coupler, a container cover, a springand a tube affixed to a cogged coupler at its upper end and the blendingtool at its lower end, wherein said quick release coupler, spring andcontainer cover are held concentrically around said tube and betweensaid cogged coupler and said blending tool.
 3. The blender of claim 1wherein said spindle motor, elevator motor and fluid reservoir arecontained in a blender housing.
 4. The blender of claim 3 furthercomprising a pivotable cover attached to said blender housing to preventoperator contact with the spindle assembly when the spindle motor isoperating and allow operator contact with the spindle assembly when thespindle motor is not operating.
 5. The blender of claim 4 wherein saidpivotable cover pivots to a downward position when the spindle motor isoperating and pivots to an upward position when the spindle motor is notoperating.
 6. The blender of claim 1 further comprising a control panelin operative engagement with said microprocessor.
 7. The blender ofclaim 1 further comprising a level sensor in said fluid reservoir todetermine when the fluid reservoir needs to be replenished with fluid.8. The blender of claim 7 wherein said level sensor is a float sensor.9. The blender of claim 7 wherein a visual or audible alert is made whenthe level sensor detects that the level of fluid in the fluid reservoiris too low.
 10. The blender of claim 1 further comprising an innerspindle drive shaft permanently coupled to said spindle motor and tubein said removable spindle assembly which are operatively coupledtogether through cogged couplers.
 11. The blender of claim 1 whereinsaid food or beverage is a frozen food or beverage.
 12. The blender ofclaim 1 wherein said cup and cupholder have connecting anti-rotationalmechanisms to prevent them from rotating with respect to one anotherduring the blending process.
 13. A blender for blending a frozen food orbeverage in a cup, comprising: a housing including rails; a spindlemotor supported within the housing; a spindle assembly including arotatable blending tool including a plurality of blades, the blendingtool driven by the spindle motor to blend the frozen food or beveragewithin the cup during a blending process; an elevator assembly includinga cupholder configured to receive the cup and an elevator motor operableto raise and lower the cupholder during the blending process; a fluidreservoir removably coupled to the housing, the fluid reservoirincluding a handle and slidable along the rails between a fully attachedposition and a detached position by pulling on the handle; a watercoupler disposed on the housing to engage the fluid reservoir when thefluid reservoir is in the fully attached position to establish fluidcommunication with the fluid reservoir; a pump in fluid communicationwith the fluid reservoir; and wherein fluid is pumped from the fluidreservoir into the cup during the blending process.
 14. The blender ofclaim 13, further comprising a heater, wherein the microprocessor isconfigured to control the heater to heat the fluid before the fluid ispumped into the cup.
 15. A method of operating the blender of claim 13,the method comprising: positioning the cup in the cupholder when thecupholder is in a starting position; initiating the blending process,wherein the blending process includes operating the elevator motor toraise the cupholder toward the blending tool such that the blending toolenters the cup, operating the spindle motor to rotate the blending toolwhile the blending tool is positioned within the cup, transferring fluidfrom the fluid reservoir into the cup while operating the spindle motor;raising and lowering the cupholder with the elevator motor whileoperating the spindle motor to blend different levels of the food orbeverage product; after the blending process, returning the cupholder tothe starting position; and removing the cup from the cupholder.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising rinsing the blending tool withfluid from the fluid reservoir after the blending process.
 17. A blenderfor blending food or beverage in a cup comprising: a blender housingincluding a rail; a spindle motor contained within the blender housingand connected to a removable spindle assembly, the removable spindleassembly including a blending tool having a plurality of blades; anelevator motor contained within the blender housing and connected to acupholder for holding a cup with a food or beverage; a fluid reservoirremovably coupled to the blender housing, wherein the fluid reservoir isslidable along the rail between a fully attached position and a detachedposition, wherein the fluid reservoir includes a handle, and wherein thefluid reservoir is slidable along the rail from the fully attachedposition toward the detached position by pulling on the handle in aremoval direction; and a pump in fluid communication with the fluidreservoir when the fluid reservoir is in the fully attached position.18. The blender of claim 17, further comprising a level sensor in saidfluid reservoir to detect a level of fluid contained in the fluidreservoir.
 19. The blender of claim 18, wherein said level sensor is afloat sensor.
 20. The blender of claim 18, wherein the blender isconfigured to issue a visual or audible alert when the level sensordetects that the level of fluid in the fluid reservoir is below athreshold level.